Penning this missive it is during a pivotal time for the UK. The referendum debate has been raging back and forth for months, and what is very clear is that when the Government agreed to it they were just too blasé. It simply underestimated the beguiling charm of Mr Salmond and his ability to win the hearts and minds of a large swathe of Scots, from a variety of economic classes and backgrounds.

By the end of tomorrow the vote will have taken place and we will be living in one of two realities. The first will see the majority of us breathe a collective sigh of relief and try to laugh it off as inevitable that Scotland would never leave the fold. The second will see a sense of stunned disbelief pervade the UK, as a union of 307 years comes to an end.

The stark fact is that whichever way the vote went, the aforementioned blasé attitude and the very fact that the referendum happened at all is a grave indictment of our nation’s health and the strongest possible indicator that something is very wrong at its heart. ”

Although British, I was born overseas and spent my first six years in the UK in Edinburgh developing the city’s lilting accent in the process. As a result I see myself very much as British, with no other regional identity. And while I fully support the nation’s right to choose its future, was there really a need for a referendum? Normally such events are spurred by cultural or social repression from a master state, but does anyone really think that was the case here? The stark fact is that whichever way the vote went, the aforementioned blasé attitude and the very fact that the referendum happened at all is a grave indictment of our nation’s health and the strongest possible indicator that something is very wrong at its heart.

Perhaps we just could not quite believe it would ever really be possible and have sleep walked into one of these two futures. Whichever comes to pass then the words of Calvin Smith of Calsigns in Luton in a letter to SignLink say it best: “I am proud of the UK and want Scotland to stay a part of us. […] I now agree with those who say, we have done all we can, given all we can, and said all we can. […] The damage they have done during this campaign is irreparable.” And that is just it, whichever way the vote went there is now a new scar in our cultural consciousness with economic damage no doubt done. How deep and severe remains to be seen. 

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